Mat Taib ketepikan kepentingan peribadi sokong Anwar di Kajang

Sebab itu saya pesan kepada BN, jangan cuba jadikan PRK Kajang sebagai tempat menyerang isu peribadi.

PETALING JAYA: Biarpun Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim pernah mengenakan Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib tetapi bekas Menteri Besar Selangor itu tetap menyeru pengundi PRK Kajang menghukum BN pada 23 Mac ini.

Menurut beliau, PRK Kajang adalah peluang kepada rakyat Malaysia untuk menghukum Barisan Nasional (BN) yang gagal menunaikan janji pada Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 (PRU-13) lalu.

Ketika beliau menjadi menteri besar, beliau ditangkap di Australia membawa masuk wang tunai sebanyak RM2.5 juta yang dikatakan dilapor oleh para pegawai Anwar kepada Imigresen Australia.

Muhammad yang merupakan dari pasukan wawasan selain dari Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dan Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yang diketuai Anwar telah menyingkirkan Ghafar Baba dalam pertandingan Umno pada tahun 1993.

Sejak penangkapan beliau, beliau menyalahkan Anwar yang mahu menjatuhkannya dan apabila keluar dari Umno, beliau menyertai PAS dan bukannya PKR milik Anwar Ibrahim.

Memetik laporan Keadilan Daily, bekas Menteri Besar Selangor itu berkata, pengundi Kajang mewakili sentimen seluruh rakyat Malaysia yang berang terhadap kenaikan harga barang dan perkhidmatan ekoran kegagalan pengurusan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“Tapi, Umno-BN jangan fikir bahawa rakyat lupa. Dengan kenaikan harga barangan dan kos sara hidup yang meningkat, sudah tentu BN akan menghadapi ujian besar.

“Dan mereka (BN) jangan cuba mengalihkan pandangan rakyat daripada isu besar,” kata Muhammad.

Beliau berkata, PRK Kajang adalah waktu yang tepat kepada rakyat untuk membuat penilaian antara BN dan Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Katanya, PRK Kajang juga tidak harus digunakan BN untuk menjatuhkan pihak lawan dengan pelbagai serangan peribadi.

“PRK Kajang bukannya isu peribadi. Sebab itu saya pesan kepada BN, jangan cuba jadikan PRK Kajang sebagai tempat menyerang isu peribadi.

“Isu peribadi sudah tidak laku. Tidak payah bawa isu remeh temeh kerana yang penting adalah masa depan rakyat dan negara.

“Isu hutang negara, isu subsidi yang ditarik balik. Ini yang lebih penting, selain ada isu lebih besar yang perlu disentuh dan dibahaskan,” katanya.

Broadening the mix of political options

Local government elections could be a testing ground for newer and smaller parties to prove themselves

Azmi Sharom, The Star

THIS entire Kajang debacle appears to be about changing the Mentri Besar. According to an interview I read, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is of the opinion that although he is a good manager, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim does not have the political savvy to deal with the type of attacks the Selangor government has been facing.

Issues which inflame heated emotions need an experienced politician (like Anwar) to deal with them, not a chief executive officer (like Khalid). Yeah, well, whatever.

It is very wearisome to me, all this political wrangling.

Frankly, I couldn’t care less about internal party politics.

What I want is a government that in my view is as good as a government can be. I won’t discuss what I mean by that because that would require a separate article by itself.

So, as long as the mentri besar does his job well, he or she can be whoever the winning party believes should lead them.

Aha, but it is not so simple, is it? Because we don’t have a presidential system of government, we don’t actually have a direct say on whom we want to be the mentri besar.

And even if I am rather blasé about the whole thing, it does not mean my fellow Selangor residents feel the same way.

The sounds that I hear are generally those in favour of Khalid staying; those in favour of Anwar taking over; and those who can live with either of them but not Azmin Ali.

I don’t really know what to think because it is not as if Pakatan Rakyat have been very open about the whole thing, have they?

There is such coyness when talking about whether there actually is going to be a change in boss. And the reasoning as to why such a thing should happen has been very vague.

Like I said, I don’t have strong feelings about the issue. But if you do, what can be done about it?

I think the only option is to make your state assemblyman know what your feelings are on this matter.

They have to know what the citizens of Selangor think and hopefully they will make their minds up accordingly; because at the end of the day it is the person who has the confidence of the state legislature who will be the MB and the state legislators are voted in by us.

This raises another point and that is the role of the Sultan of Selangor in this matter.

It is true that the Sultan has the discretion to choose the MB. However, discretion here has a very special meaning. It means that choosing an MB is one of the things that the Sultan can do without advice from the government.

This does not mean that he can pick simply anybody. His discretion is limited because he has to pick someone whom he believes has the confidence of the house.

This of course makes democratic sense because it ultimately respects the choice of the people, albeit in an indirect manner.

The people can’t choose the MB themselves, but by voting in a particular party or coalition, then there is an implied consent that their chosen group should have a say on who becomes the top honcho.

If the Sultan chooses just any person and the house disagrees with the Sultan’s choice, then they may very well hold a vote of no confidence against the MB once the house is in session.

This could lead to a sticky constitutional crisis. But, and this is a big but, all this depends on Anwar Ibrahim actually winning Kajang and Khalid Ibrahim actually resigning from his post as Mentri Besar.

Who knows what will happen.

This brings to mind another democratic question.

I am sorry if I am meandering all over the place. I think I may have overdosed on mandarin oranges.

I was wondering; if we, the people, get fed up with either Barisan or Pakatan, what choice do we have?

Not much really. I know there are many other political parties which are not the current big guns, but Malaysian politics is rather like Spanish football – two big teams and then everyone else (with apologies to Atletico Madrid fans).

What can be done to add to this mix?

I believe it is hard for smaller parties or new parties to make good because we don’t have local elections. Imagine if we had local elections, then a smaller party could prove themselves at that level.

We can see how well or badly they work and there would be recognition which then could be built upon to go to the state and then federal level of politics.

Local politics allows the smaller parties to get a taste of government at relatively low costs as campaigning in a local government area is a lot cheaper than state or federal level.

Also, it gives the people an opportunity to give them a chance and to see what they can do.

At the very least, local government elections would open up the opportunities for those who want to be directly part of the democratic process. Maybe that is what we need right now; a bit more choice.

Azmi Sharom (azmisharom@yahoo.co.uk) is a law teacher.

The Bible is inaccurate and camels prove it, archaeologists claim

Camels came to the south Levant in the 9th century BC
Archaeologists have cast doubt on the accuracy of the Bible after uncovering new evidence about camels.

Carbon dating suggests the animals were not domesticated in Israel until the 9th century BC - hundreds of years after they were depicted in the Old Testament.

Camels feature in biblical stories involving Abraham and Joseph.

The research was carried out by Erez Ben-Yosef and Lidar Sapir-Hen of Israel's Tel-Aviv University.
A statement from the university, reported in the Times of Israel, said the discrepancy “is direct proof that the [Biblical] text was compiled well after the events it describes”.

The archeologists found camel bones in layers that dated from the last third of the 10th century BC or later, long after they feature in the Bible.

Sweden, bebaskan mereka?

Sinar Harian 
by SYAHREDZAN JOHAN

Baru-baru ini, negara dikejutkan dengan berita tentang pasangan warga Malaysia yang ditahan di Sweden. Mereka ditangkap kerana isu pukul anak bagi mendidik anak tersebut untuk bersolat. Anak-anak mereka, empat orang kesemuanya, ditempatkan di sebuah rumah jagaan sementara.

Penulis tidak arif tentang undang-undang Sweden. Apa yang penulis tahu datangnya daripada laporan yang disiarkan dan sedikit kajian melalui internet. Menurut maklumat, Sweden telah lama mengharamkan sebarang jenis hukuman fizikal ke atas kanak-kanak dan pasangan tersebut ditangkap mengikut undang-undang Sweden tentang perkara itu.

Setiap negara berdaulat bebas menggubal undang-undang mereka sendiri. Itulah alasan yang sering kita gunakan untuk menjustifikasikan undang-undang sedia ada. Mana-mana orang luar juga wajar mengikut undang-undang tempatan. Ini juga sering digunakan apabila kita mengambil tindakan terhadap warga asing. Tidak timbul isu bahawa kerana mereka warga Malaysia, undang-undang Sweden tidak boleh diguna pakai.

Juga mengikut laporan, semua tindakan pihak berkuasa Sweden sehingga kini adalah mengikut undang-undang Sweden. Tidak ada dakwaan yang sebaliknya. Jadi, sekiranya semua tindakan pihak berkuasa adalah mengikut undang-undang, atas dasar apa boleh penahanan mereka dicabar? Jika tindakan pihak berkuasa Sweden adalah ‘betul’ di sisi undang-undang, apa lagi tindakan yang boleh diambil?

Di sini hak asasi manusia memainkan peranan.

Pada pendapat penulis, isunya bukan kebebasan beragama. Kebebasan beragama tidak merangkumi kebebasan untuk memukul anak atas sebab ingin mendidik agama. Juga, sukar untuk berhujah bahawa mana-mana ibu bapa mempunyai ‘hak’ untuk menghukum kanak-kanak secara fizikal. Apatah lagi apabila dibandingkan dengan hak kanak-kanak itu sendiri untuk dilindungi daripada tindakan fizikal daripada sesiapa pun.

Tetapi adalah menjadi hak asasi seorang manusia, tidak kira di mana, untuk tidak dikenakan tahanan, tangkapan atau pembuangan secara arbitari atau sewenang-wenangnya. Juga, terdapat hak untuk dianggap tidak bersalah sehingga dibuktikan kesalahannya di dalam perbicaraan yang terbuka dan yang mana dia diberi kesempatan untuk membela diri.

Di Sweden, seseorang yang disyaki melakukan kesalahan boleh ditahan reman. Menurut laporan, mereka telah ditahan sejak bulan lepas. Mereka akan dibawa ke mahkamah untuk dilanjutkan reman setiap 14 hari, dan tarikh penentuan reman seterusnya adalah pada akhir bulan Januari. Berbeza dengan Malaysia, reman ini boleh dilanjutkan seberapa banyak kali tanpa ada tempoh maksimum.

Pada ketika ini, pasangan tersebut tidak dihadapkan ke mahkamah atas apa-apa tuduhan. Oleh itu, sekiranya mereka terus ditahan dan reman mereka dilanjutkan, ia seperti menghukum mereka sebelum mereka didakwa, dibicarakan, diberi peluang membela diri mahupun kesalahan mereka dibuktikan. Bukankah ini bertentangan dengan hak asasi manusia?

Berbeza dengan Malaysia, hak asasi manusia boleh diguna pakai sebagai alasan untuk mencabar sesuatu tindakan secara asasnya mengikut undang-undang. Ini kerana, hak asasi melangkaui undang-undang tempatan dan tidak boleh dinafikan, disekat atau dicabul oleh undang-undang tempatan. Kes-kes dari Sweden juga boleh dibawa ke Mahkamah Hak Asasi Manusia Eropah.

Di samping itu, keinginan anak-anak pasangan tersebut juga wajar diambil kira. Sekiranya mereka tidak mahu dijaga oleh penjaga bukan Islam contohnya, pihak berkuasa Sweden wajar melaksanakan keinginan mereka, melainkan terdapat sebab-sebab yang perlu dan munasabah demi kepentingan mereka untuk tidak berbuat demikian.

Ya, hak asasi manusia, yang begitu dimomokkan oleh sesetengah pihak, yang dikatakan merupakan konsep Barat yang tidak sesuai atau serasi dengan kita di Malaysia, bahkan diperangi habis-habisan, hak asasi inilah yang boleh diguna pakai oleh pasangan tersebut, yang ditahan kerana mendidik anak mereka tentang kepentingan bersolat.

*Penulis seorang peguam muda yang mengamal undang-undang sebagai rakan kongsi di sebuah firma guaman di Kuala Lumpur.

Put Aside Differences For Country's Continued Progress - Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak Wednesday night invited Malaysians to make a commitment together to continued development of the country by putting aside differences and looking instead at what they share.

The prime minister urged the people to work together with mutual respect and responsibility, focusing on their common destiny.

"As we look beyond developed-nation status, we must focus our energies on building a sustainable source of talent, those who will carry forward the momentum that began five decades ago in Merdeka Square," he said.

Najib said this in his speech which carried the theme, 'Contribution to the Nation' at the 2013 Merdeka Awards presentation to five recipients, here.

Tan Sri Arsyad Ayub and Raja Tan Sri Muhammad Alias were joint recipients under the Education and Community category, Dr Lim Boo Liat (Environment), Tan Sri Dr Yahya Awang (Science and Technology) and Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Lam Sai Kit (Outstanding Scholastic Achievement).

Najib presented the awards in the presence of the Regent of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin shah, who is also the chairman of the Merdeka Award board of trustees.

The prime minister noted that since independence, sustained rapid economic growth had raised Malaysia from an agricultural and commodity-based economy to become one of the world's top trading nations.

"Our sound economic performance has helped improve the quality of life for Malaysians, supporting huge advances in education, healthcare, infrastructure, housing and public amenities," he said.

Najib stressed that the country's hopes and prospects rested on the new generation of young Malaysians who would steer the nation to greater heights.

On the 2013 Merdeka Award recipients, he said they boasted a combined legacy that had benefited generations of Malaysians, past and present.

"Their achievements - in education, rural reform, conservation, healthcare and medical research - have made a significant contribution to the nation's story," Najib said.

Najib pointed out that when his father, the country's second prime minister, the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein wanted to turn Mara College into an institution focusing on developing the talents the country needed, he entrusted Arshad with the task.

"Tan Sri Arshad has shaped Malaysia's education landscape, developing professional education, and pursuing education reforms and innovation that have opened up a world of opportunities to students in Malaysia," he said.

Najib said the country had also relied on experts like Raja Alias who not only helped develop the palm oil commodity but also made a difference to the lives of numerous rural communities.

He paid glowing tributes to the other recipients as well.

"These five gentlemen, and the teams who worked alongside them, have left their mark on Malaysia's history. They have also laid the foundations for future success," he said.

Since its founding in 2007, the Merdeka Award has recognised 22 exceptional individuals and two organisations, each serving as role models and for the post-Merdeka generation to emulate.

Also present were Raja Puan Besar of Perak Tuanku Zara Salim, the prime minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Petronas chairman Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan and Shell Malaysia chairman Iain Lo.

Meanwhile, Raja Nazrin said the Merdeka Award had always been about reaching "the highest of heights".

He said the award drew as inspiration the efforts of the nation's founding fathers, who came together to unite under one flag and set the nation's growth and success as their aim.

"These are the values that anchor the 'Spirit of Merdeka' and which we, at the Merdeka Award, have made the mission to cultivate and nurture among the people of Malaysia," he said in his speech at the event.

Why Kajang? - Anwar delivers long-awaited explanation

Fatwa over Pregnancy, Victim punished, accused spared

Lalmonirhat imam held
A teenage girl has been ostracized in Lalmonirhat through a fatwa for her pregnancy after she was lured into a physical relationship with an adult with the promise of marriage.

The father of the 13-year-old girl filed a case with Aditmari Police Station on January 12, accusing Rezaul Islam, of Vatapara village, of developing illicit relations with the girl through deception.

Five days after the filing of the case, the imam of Vatapara Jame Masjid, Fazlul Haque, imposed the fatwa on the nine-month-pregnant girl and her family, forbidding villagers to engage in any form of interaction with them.

But neither the villagers took any action against Rezaul, 19, nor did police arrest him.

"I loved Rezaul. He said he would marry me and I believed him," the girl, who had just completed the fifth grade, told The Daily Star.

Since the victim was below 18, police filed a rape case, said Sub-inspector Aminul Islam, investigation officer of the case.

Asked about the fatwa, the imam attempted to justify what he had done by saying that the girl brought false accusations against Rezaul.
"The family did not disclose details of the rape to the villagers when it happened. They lodged the case when the girl's pregnancy reached an advanced stage, which was not possible to hide, and put the blame on Rezaul," Fazlul Haque said.

However, the victim's mother said they had been trying to persuade Rezaul to keep his promise and marry the girl. The family approached the police as a last resort.

The rapist had reportedly demanded 27 decimals of land as dowry. The victim's family offered him 14 decimals of land that they could afford but he rejected the proposal.

Against such a backdrop, the girl herself went to Rezaul's house on January 1 and pleaded with him to marry her. She was beaten up by Rezaul's elder brother Mizanur and brother-in-law Fazlu and kicked out of the house.

In the case statement, the girl's father accused Mizanur and Fazlu of beating up her daughter.

Neither of Mizanur, Fazlu and Rezaul has been arrested although they are seen roaming around the area.

Local people said they had seen Rezaul offer prayers at the mosque on the day the fatwa was issued.

SI Aminul refuted the claim and said the accused were on the run.

Police raided the village in Durgapur union of Aditmari upazila yesterday evening and arrested the imam for issuing the fatwa. They also arrested a village leader, Muzibur Rahman.

 http://www.thedailystar.net/victim-punished-accused-spared-9823

New York City public school kids getting new Muslim, Lunar New Year holidays

Mayor de Blasio said Monday that he’d move forward with closing schools for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, two Muslim holy days, and for Lunar New Year. But he was hesitant regarding Hindu festival Diwali.

New York City is moving to close school for two Muslim holidays and the Lunar New Year — but Mayor de Blasio isn’t so sure about the Hindu festival Diwali.

Appearing on WNYC’s “Brian Lehrer Show” on Monday, the mayor said he hadn’t taken a position on whether Diwali, the festival of lights celebrated in India and other South Asian countries, should be a day off from school.

But he said he’d move forward with closing schools for Lunar New Year and for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, Muslim holy days.

“It is complicated in terms of logistics and school calendar and budget. But it’s something I want to get done in a reasonable time frame,” he said.

A spokesman for the Indian community appealed to the mayor to recognize the Hindu holiday.

Rob Bennett for the Office of Mayor Bill de Blasio

Mayor de Blasio, in blue, will add more holidays to the New York City public school calendar — but not all the days everyone was seeking.

“We are disappointed. We’ve been trying for a long time … It’s very important for the community,” said Dr. Shashi Shah of the Association of Indians in America.

Ethnic communities have pushed for all four holidays to be recognized. Former Mayor Bloomberg opposed the change, saying kids should not miss more school.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/nyc-public-school-kids-new-holidays-article-1.1601237#ixzz2sNU0go00

Perkasa selar SKMM cepat bertindak tutup Facebook anti Kristian tetapi tidak anti Islam

Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Kebangsaan (Perkasa) mempersoalkan tindakan pantas Suruhanjaya
Komunikasi Media Multimedia (SKMM) menutup laman Facebook yang dikatakan menghina agama Kristian tetapi lambat bertindak apabila ia berkaitan agama Islam.

Menurut Setiausaha Agung Perkasa Syed Hassan Syed Ali (gambar), agak menghairankan apabila SKMM tidak bertindak biarpun laporan polis dibuat terhadap beberapa laman sesawang dan Facebook yang menghina umat Islam di negara ini.

"Perkasa ingin bertanya kepada SKMM, mengapa begitu cepat bertindak terhadap akaun Facebook menghina Kristian tetapi tiada satu pun tindakan diambil terhadap Facebook yang menghina kesucian Islam walau sudah banyak aduan dibuat," kata Syed Hassan dalam satu kenyataan lewat petang tadi di Kuala Lumpur.

"Laporan polis terhadap beberapa portal berita dan Facebook yang menghina kesucian Islam kami kira cukup banyak tetapi mengapa masih tiada tindakan diambil? Apakah laporan polis tidak mencukupi dan perlu juga membuat aduan kepada SKMM?"

Perkasa turut menuntut SKMM agar tidak bersikap memilih dalam mengambil tindakan terhadap aduan yang dibuat kerana agak mengecewakan apabila melihat begitu banyak penghinaan terhadap kesucian Islam sedangkan pihak bertanggungjawab seperti SKMM hanya memandang ringan mengenai isu tersebut.

"Perkasa menunggu pula reaksi daripada pertubuhan yang memperjuangkan hak kebebasan bersuara mengapa tidak menyelar SKMM kerana menyekat kebebasan bersuara apabila laman Facebook tersebut ditutup.

"Adakah mereka juga memilih untuk membuat kritikan? Apabila Islam dihina dan kita menggesa tindakan diambil maka ia dilihat sebagai melanggar kebebasan bersuara?" katanya.

Menurut Syed Hassan, Perkasa tetap dengan pendirian menghina agama bukanlah kebebasan bersuara.

"Perbuatan menghina sesuatu agama bukanlah kebebasan bersuara. Penghina terhadap sesuatu agama wajar dihukum dengan hukuman yang keras," katanya.

Hari ini SKMM dilaporkan mengambil tindakan menutup beberapa laman sesawang dan Facebook anti Kristian.

Menurut Pengerusi SKMM Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, penutupan itu termasuk laman “Semenajung Malaysia Anti Sabah and Sarawak”.

“Kami menghubungi Facebook (pentadbir) dan beberapa laman berkenaan ditutup,” katanya seperti dilapor Malaysiakini.

Katanya, siasatan SKMM terhadap laman Facebook berkenaan masih berterusan.

PAS Sabah membuat laporan polis terhadap laman Facebook yang didaftarkan atas nama “Semenanjung Malaysia Anti Sabah and Sarawak" yang menghina penganut Kristian dan Malaysia Timur.

Gambar menghina penganut Kristian termasuk seekor katak dipaku ke salib menimbulkan kemarahan warga Sabah dan Sarawak.

Dua ahli politik Sarawak mengeluarkan kenyataan bagi meredakan kemarahan penduduk Borneo terhadap sentimen anti Kristian dan anti Malaysia Timur di Semenanjung sambil memberi amaran terhadap cadangan berpisah daripada Malaysia yang disifatkannya sebagai pengkhianat.

Menteri Kabinet Sarawak Tan Sri Dr James Masing berkata tidak perlu perbincangan untuk berpisah daripada Malaysia sebagaimana yang pernah dibangkitkan dalam laman Facebook oleh warga Sabah dan Sarawak. – 4 Febuari, 2014.

Body of Special Branch officer shot twice in face found at KL roadside

A policeman attached with Federal police Special Branch unit was found dead, after he was believed to have been shot twice in the face, at Bukit Persekutuan in Kuala Lumpur, today.

Police found the body of the 37-year-old corporal after receiving a call at 4.30 pm.

The deceased was shot twice on the face, one shot pierced through his right cheek while the other through his right eye.

City police CID deputy chief ACP Khairi Ahrasa said the victim, whose identity was being held, was in plainclothes.

He said the body was found by a police patrol unit by the side of Jalan Negeri Sembilan at Bukit Persekutuan, together with 9mm bullet casings and a Modenas Kriss motorcycle, which the police said belonged to another policeman.

“We believe he was shot dead within one hour before the body was found, based on the initial checks on the body at the scene,” said Khairi.

Sources close to the investigation said the deceased wallet and personal belongings were still intact, ruling out robbery as a motive for the murder.

Police are also checking if the killer was known to the victim, based on clues found at the scene.

When contacted, Special Branch director Datuk Seri Akhil Bulat declined to give more details, saying the case was being investigated by the Kuala Lumpur police.

The case has been classified as murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

The body has been sent to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for post mortem. – February 4, 2014.

The fight for water - a Selangor story

 

 The year began with much drama involving the Selangor water scene with statements that Putrajaya will invoke Section 114 of WSIA 2006 act to temporarily take over Selangor’s water assets, management and concessions, in response to the failure to restructure the water supply services in the state of Selangor.

Last year we had seen woes after woes hitting the water supply services of Selangor, ranging from dry spells to the Sungai Selangor oil spill. Just recently, during Chinese New Year, one of the most important festive seasons in Malaysia, major water disruptions occurred at several places at Hulu Langat and Kuala Langat due to ammonium contamination at Sungai Langat.

While the predicament for safe, clean and continuous water supply is clear, unfortunately, the solutions are not. Following the failure of the state to restructure its water and the announcement of the continuation of Langat 2, the people are unsure when and how the issue would be settled.

Amidst all this, it was announced that Selangor state government would carry out Hybrid Off-River Augmentation System (HORAS) at the Selangor River to ensure water availability during drier months.

It is undeniable that water restructuring of water supply services is vital in ensuring the sustainability of clean and safe water supply in the state. However, the people are shrouded in uncertainty on whether the takeover of Selangor’s water supply by the federal government would actually speed up the restructuring process or otherwise.

An action plan with a solid timeline to complete the water restructuring process in Selangor should be made available by the federal government.

It was subsequently announced that the long suspended Langat 2 project is to be resumed. Langat 2 is often associated with high expenditures, and thus as an alternative to the Langat 2 project, the Selangor state government had proposed HORAS to be done at the Selangor River.

A detailed explanation on what is HORAS and how would it affects the environment and natural water cycle is necessary since information related to the project has not been made public. An environmental impact assessment and cost-benefit analysis on the proposed HORAS project should be done to justify its commencement.

In conclusion, the water sector restructuring process in Selangor should take place as soon as possible in order to ensure the sustainability of clean and safe water supply. Also, any developments such as Langat 2 and HORAS should always take into consideration the consumers’ interests and long-term sustainability of the water services industry.

---

MATHINI ARVEENA RAVEE is research and policy executive, Water and Sanitation Services Forum Air Malaysia (Malaysian Water Forum).

Deny ‘DAP support’, Palanivel told

MIC president G Palanivel has come under fire again, this time for not fielding strong candidates in Penang and supporting the DAP.

KUALA LUMPUR: A former MIC deputy minister wants party leader G Palanivel to explain why he did not field strong candidates in Penang in the last general election so as not to “disturb” the DAP in the state.

Former Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department T Murugiah said Palanivel should come out and clear the air over the allegation.

In FMT’s report on Jan 30, a former Central Working Committee (CWC) member said Palanivel shot down S Vell Paari’s suggestion on MIC’s candidates in Penang so as to take care of DAP’s interest in Penang.

During the meeting, Vell Paari had suggested that former youth treasurer J Dheenagaran and incumbent CWC member Henry Benedict Aasirvaatham be given the opportunity to contest under the Barisan Nasional banner in Bagan Dalam and Perai state seats respectively.

However, Palanivel immediately dismissed his suggestion by claiming that MIC should not “disturb” the DAP in Penang.

Palanivel had said then that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Deputy Chief Minister (II) P Ramasamy were his close friends.

Vell Paari had then told FMT that the CWC members were shocked when Palanivel commented that the DAP was doing an excellent job in Penang and should let them remain in power.

He had said his suggestion to field strong candidates was turned down by Palanivel.

“This is a very serious issue and Palanivel must clarify immediately. Otherwise, it may create an unhealthy situation between MIC and other BN component parties,” Murugiah told FMT.

“Being a component party, MIC should not betray or back-stab the BN.

“Palanivel should give his explanation before the CWC meeting on Thursday,” he said.

Meanwhile, Aasirvaatham has urged the party discipline committee to act against Vell Paari if the allegations were proven false.

“Vell Paari has already challenged the party leadership to take action if what he said was false.

“The party must expel him immediately despite Vell Paari being the son of former party president S Samy Vellu,” he added.

Nalla offers to challenge Anwar in Kajang

Nalla offers to challenge Anwar in Kajang

The BN-friendly senator says he knows all of Anwar's secrets.
UPDATED

KUALA LUMPUR: Former ally-turned-nemesis KS Nallakaruppan today offered to contest against Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim for the Kajang state seat by-election.

“I am the best candidate to challenge Anwar. I would like to share with Kajang voters all his secrets.

“His secrets are in my pocket,” said Nallakaruppan at a press conference today.

Nallakaruppan is the president of BN-friendly Malaysian Indian United Party (MIUP) and a senator since 2012.

He had been a friend of Anwar – his former tennis partner – for more than 30 years but parted ways with the PKR leader in 2007 following a party position tussle.

Nallakaruppan today urged the BN leadership to allow him to contest in the traditional MCA seat, failing which he may contemplate standing as an independent.

He said he would be meeting Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak soon to discuss the matter.

He also called on Anwar to step down as the Permatang Pauh MP, adding that he would quit his senator’s position for the by-election.

‘Who is Anwar compared to Nallakaruppan?’

When asked if he will convince MCA to allow him to contest in Kajang, Nallakaruppan said it was up to BN secretary general Tengku Adnan Mansor to do the negotiations.

Nallakaruppan also claimed he has a better standing compared to any other candidate who may be against Anwar.

“I have a better chance to win if fielded. Who is Anwar compared to Nallakaruppan?” he asked.

He also labelled Anwar as the ‘Bapa Putar Alam Malaysia’ (‘Master of Spin’), for deceiving Malaysian people with his political stunts.

Meanwhile, Ng Lum Yong who claimed to be one of the founding members of PKR in 1998 and also held a post in the central committee said that all former PKR and PAS men will join forces against Anwar for the by-election.

Ng also added that they would support any candidate introduced by BN to stand against against Anwar.

Former PKR Kedah state youth chief Zamil Ibrahim also called on Anwar to quit his Permatang Pauh MP’s post before contesting the Kajang state seat.

RM200 for a bar of soap

Corruption reigns in Malaysian prisons, alleges an Iranian social worker.

PETALING JAYA: A bar of bath soap costs RM200, a pack of cigarettes fetches RM400 and tinned food sells for RM500 a can.

No, we’re not talking about rare items or a charity auction. Neither are we painting a scenario of what the future holds if our policy makers don’t do something soon about the inflation rate.

These, according to a social worker, are the kinds of prices that prison inmates pay for merchandise that their guards either supply directly or allow someone else to deliver.

“There are many cases of bribery and corruption in the prisons,” said the social worker, an Iranian woman who frequently visits her compatriots in Malaysian jails.

She told FMT that guards made money not only be selling merchandise to the inmates but also by imposing a charge on visitors carrying food into the visiting hall.

“Whether you like it or not, you still have to pay,” she said.

“I have paid them many times. Each time I take food into the prison, they would ask for money—anywhere between RM200 and RM400, depending on who is working on that day.”

She said some guards had even asked her to deposit money into their bank accounts.

“I have to pay. I do not have options. I need to see the inmates to talk to them.”

She said she had not lodged any police report or complained to prison authorities for fear of being prevented from further visits. “If I lodge a report, I think I won’t be able to see them again.”

She alleged that corruption pervaded the entire prison system. “I think everyone from the lowest to the highest rank is corrupt.”

She said a prison officer once contacted her at night to ask for money when an Iranian inmate asked him for a cigarette.

Drug mules

There are about 400 Iranians in Malaysian prisons, many of them awaiting trial for drug-related offences.

The social worker claimed that the majority of them came from poor families, were poorly educated and were tricked into becoming drug mules.

“They came here because someone had told them to carry luggages into Malaysia and then fly back to Iran to collect their payment,” she said.

“Only 5% who were caught really knew what they were doing. They knew the risks, but were still willing to do it because of the money. This small number of inmates were not arrested at the airport, but somewhere in the city.

“Those who were tricked into becoming drug mules were arrested at the airport. Only when they were arrested did they find out that they had brought in illegal substances.”

Hutan Melintang PKR man quits party?

In the letter, he cited dissatisfaction with the PKR leadership as a reason to turn independent


K Pragalath, FMT

Two-term Hutan Melintang state assemblyman S Kesavan has allegedly quit PKR to be an independent assemblyman.

A source from the Perak Speaker’s office confirmed receiving a party resignation letter purportedly from Kesavan, and is trying to verify if the letter was indeed sent by Kesavan.

FMT also obtained a copy of a letter allegedly signed by Kesavan. He could not be contacted to confirm the resignation.

The letter is dated Jan 2 and is addressed to Perak state legislative assembly speaker SK Devamany. It was received by Devamany’s office today.

In it, Kesavan declared that he was quitting PKR effective immediately after losing confidence and dissatisfaction with the PKR leadership.

The state assemblyman first won the seat in 2008 by polling 7,804 votes against MIC candidate S Thangaswari. He defended his position in 2013 by polling 10,155 votes in a four cornered tussle.

News of this resignation letter has taken Perak DAP by surprise with its state chief Ngeh Koo Ham reportedly saying that he was not informed of the matter.

PKR supreme council member Mustafa Kamil Ayub meanwhile was reported to have said in a mainstream news portal that Kesavan did not mention his intention when he met him during the party’s supreme council meeting last month.

Meanwhile, in a twist of events, PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil denied Kesavan had submitted a resignation letter to the state speaker.

“After receiving an explanation from YB Kesavan, PKR confirms that he had never sent that letter, nor has he quit the party,” Fahmi said in a brief statement.

“YB Kesavan has also been advised to lodge a police report over the fake letter,” he added.
 
READ MORE HERE

Anwar: What I would do as S’gor MB

Malaysiakini
The first person that visitors to the PKR headquarters would meet is mustachioed security guard Balu, who usually stands at the entrance of the building in the high-end neighbourhood of Tropicana, Selangor.
Although he has a seat in the information booth, Balu cannot help but crack a joke when asked why PKR has not provided him a chair: “In this party, the biggest problem is seats.”
In the latest episode, the seat in question is the post of Selangor menteri besar, with the ‘Kajang Move’ being seen as a way to unseat Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and replace him with PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.
A consummate politician, Anwar who is contesting the Kajang by-election in a bid to enter the state legislative assembly, insisted on prefacing his plans with the word ‘If’.
“If I become MB,” he said, raising his voice on ‘if’, “it will be until I become prime minister.”

His meeting with Malaysiakini yesterday was sandwiched between a long list of media interviews, and even his cheery pink candy-stripe shirt did not mask the shadow of fatigue on his face.
Still, fatigue cannot push a seasoned player like Anwar to say what he should not – that the MB’s post is merely a stepping stone and Khalid another pawn to be toppled on the longer route to the premiership.
Instead, Anwar painted a gentler picture of friendship and politics. Khalid, he said, is a good friend but Selangor needs “political clout”.
“It is sad how … he has to leave. It is sad. The circumstances and the dictate of the time requires that Selangor be driven,” he said, clenching his fist at the end to prove this point.
“I cannot accept Selangor being held every time to ransom. Every other week you have this problem, this attack.
“We seem to be quite helpless, either they (the BN) use state apparatus or some NGO and not much can be done … we will not allow this to happen. This requires political leadership.”
‘It’s not about the money’
Enter Anwar – former finance minister and someone so deft in political manouevring that he managed to oust Ghafar Baba for the Umno deputy president’s post in a heartbeat despite Ghafar’s four-decade long career in the party.
But Khalid, too, has solid credentials. Under his stewardship, Selangor reserves now stand at an astounding RM3 billion, a mountain of cash that he jealously guards.
He has refused to play politics with the funds, either by through politically-expedient projects camouflaged as state initiatives or through feeding the party.
Critics of the ‘Kajang Move’ allege that this is actually the main reason behind the manouevre. They say it is just a bid by PKR to break into the coffers.
Anwar shrugged, as if this is nothing new, and without missing a beat lamented how “unfair” such accusations are.
“How can I, at this stage of my political career, compromise on good governance? It is sheer insanity if I do that! … On that score, I am not going to change.”
What he will change, however, is how the reserves are used. He argued that there is no point of talking about reserves with issues like poverty and public housing still a problem in the state.
“The mantel of economic management is not good reserves but good management of the economy. If you spend money, say the reserves, for public housing and free education for Universiti Selangor students, then is it wasting public money?”
Solution to Bible seizure
Anwar took the long and winding route in responding to a question as to why he chose to finally intervene in Selangor.
At the end of this, it is not hard to conclude that one of his grouses was the way the state has handled the Bible seizure issue.
While the Bible Society of Malaysia continues to await the return of the copies seized, Anwar sees this as a cut-and-dried “administrative” matter. This, he said, will be his first stop as MB.
“I would say: ‘Guarantee that they won’t be distributed to Muslims, don’t send them to schools and only use them for Christians. I want it in writing.’ And then I (would) send them back,” he said.
Comparing himself to Anwar, Khalid last week had said that, unlike him, Anwar can face impossible demands (he uses Hindraf’s demands as an example) but at the end of the meeting, those making the demands will be part of Anwar’s fanclub.
It is this trait that Anwar seems to be banking on to deal with rising religious tensions over the use of ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims.
If he heads the Selangor government, Anwar said he can use state resources to build the confidence of Muslims so they would not feel threatened by purported threats to their faith.
He said he has met Muslims who are “virtually fearful” of mass Christianisation and this means the issue is “beyond political”.
“No, I don’t believe Islam is threatened or (that) we (would) allow it to happen. I would say you have all the resources at your disposal to strengthen the position of Islam, to use the mosque to educate, to launch your dakwah (preaching) programmes.
“But you should never allow people to be held to ransom, to instill this sort of fear among the non-Muslims. This is something that is just pathetic after half a century of independence.”
If Anwar becomes the MB, would he then support a change in the state enactment to bar non-Muslims from using ‘Allah’?
In answer, he related the anecdote of a Permatang Pauh Muslim scholar who had questioned him as to why non-Muslims want to change the enactment.
“I told him, Tuan Guru, if you have a non-Muslim living on Jalan Masjid, then technically he cannot use the term ‘Jalan Masjid’.
“(The scholar) said, ‘He can.’ I said, ‘But this is the law.’ Then he was shocked and his immediate reaction was (that) you have to correct the law, not knowing the implications.
“So I think we have to explain. People say, no, we change the law. But I think give it time, we have to explain. Don’t under-estimate or over-estimate your influence or power without engaging with the people.”
Deference to palace
Outside Khalid’s reverence for his “political animal” instincts, Anwar, too, prides himself as being in tune with sentiments on the ground.
Reading this while planning the ‘Kajang Move’, Anwar has known that, even if the palace cannot legally reject his nomination as MB, it would be unwise to arrogantly brush off the influence of the palace.

“I know the (state) constitution, I understand it. But as deference to the ruler, I always said that in a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, it’s not just the legal constitution.
“If you accept the institution of royalty, of kingship (sic), then there is the paraphernalia, the facade of office that you need to recognise, and that means deference.”
Royal assent, protest votes and consensus within Pakatan Rakyat are hurdles he has to clear to become MB, but these are all things that Anwar and his team of advisors have accounted for.
This is why his candidacy was announced less than 24 hours of Kajang incumbent Lee Chin Cheh’s resignation from the state seat and why he is “taking the soft line” in explaining why it was done.
It also means admitting to “mistakes” – like leaving DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng in the dark over the ‘Kajang Move’, blaming “pressure” to get things going and miscommunication (he thought DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang would tell his son).
Simply put, he said, Kajang was chosen among several seats because its demographics reflect that of the state and doing it now means there will still be time for Anwar and Pakatan to prove their chops in Selangor before the next general election.
“I cannot go on with this (and the feud within PKR Selangor and attacks by BN) on a protracted basis. I have to decide. It was a very difficult decision, not very popular in this instance andMalaysiakini is partly responsible.
“But the decision has to be made for the larger interest and I think, at least for a start, we have caught BN off guard. Nobody anticipated it …”
Neither did the people, some of whom are incensed that PKR is forcing yet another by-election.
For now, though, Anwar almost appears proud.
“It’s not bad (our responses). It means we had read the sentiments, which to me is a positive trait in political leadership.”

Najib should invite Teresa Kok to screen her “Onederful Malaysia CNY 2014” and give proper translation of the Cantonese-Mandarin dialogue and background at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow before more UMNO Ministers make fools of themselves

Another UMNO Minister has jumped into the fray over DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok’s 11-minute video “Onderful Malaysia CNY 2014”, another UMNO leader to make a fool of himself as if he understands Cantonese and Mandarin, the languages used in the video dialogue.

He is none other than the Minister for Communications and Multimedia Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek, who weighed in on the subject today, denouncing Teresa’s satirical Chinese New Year video “unbecoming of a leader” and deploying a string of derogatory ephithets for the video: “annoying”, “more nauseating”, “more disgusting”.

How does Ahmad Shabery know? Has he suddenly understood Mandarin and Cantonese, or was it based on hearsay, and biased and prejudiced hearsay by MCA or Gerakan leaders?

The first UMNO leader who tried to get political mileage from Teresa’s video is the Minister for Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal who accused Teresa’s video of lampooning the Malaysian security forces and the Lahad Datuk intrusion tragedy which saw the loss of lives among soliders and policemen.

Shafie succeeded in getting the police to swing into immediate action within hours with the Police Internal Security and Public Order director Datuk Seri Salleh Mat Rashid declaring that Teresa’s video clip would be investigated for sedition and defamation.

In actual fact, Teresa’s video did not lampoon the security forces as it did not make any mention of the security forces or the Lahad Datuk incursion tragedy.

This is a simple, open-and-shut case.

This is why I invited Shafie yesterday to a public get-together with Teresa and he could come with his experts and advisers so that his team could publicly point out where the security forces or the Lahad Datu intrusion tragedy had been the subject of ridicule by the video satire.

I am not surprised that Shafie has kept his silence because he had been caught red-handed making a fool of himself saying something he knows nothing about – unless he knows Mandarin and Cantonese to understand the video dialogue, which would make him even more culpable as deliberately telling a lie.

At present, we can only say that Shafie was foolish enough to be misled and misinformed about something he does not know as to make baseless allegations about Teresa’s video.

Who had misinformed Shafie? Was it MCA or Gerakan leaders in the BN? Is he prepared to reveal their identities.

Now another UMNO Minister, Ahmad Shabery has jumped into the morass with his eyes closed – as he could not have understood Mandarin or Cantonese.

Before more UMNO Ministers make fools of themselves, I seriously suggest that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should invite Teresa Kok to screen her 11-minute video “Onederful Malaysia CNY 2014” and to give proper translation of the Cantonese-Mandarin dialogue and background at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow so that UMNO Ministers will not be so easily misled whether by MCA or Gerakan on the issue.

May be Parliament when it reconvenes on March 10 next month should have a full screening of Teresa’s 11-minute video “Onederful Malaysia CNY 2014” with Teresa providing the correct translation of the Chinese-Mandarin dialogue and background.

Teresa should be congratulated instead of being criticized for her creative video which is heading for a million hits on YouTube – getting more hits than the most popular That Effing Show on YouTube, “Let Them Eat Kangkung” which scored 182,634 hits in two weeks as compared to Teresa’s video which received 187,334 hits in six days.

Not everybody like the “Onederful Malaysia” video, which is controversial and which is why it has collected 2,631 likes to 1,619 dislikes on YouTube.

But this does not make it seditious or criminal defamation as to be subject of police investigation.

As Bar Council President Christoper Leong has rightly said in his interview with Free Malaysia Today yesterday, action cannot be taken against Teresa on her Chinese New Year video as it was not seditious.

Leong said there was nothing seditious about the video as far as the law and the Sedition Act is concerned, regardless whether some may find the video entertaining or otherwise.
He pointed out how there were various ways to highlight serious issues or expound issues of concern.

Leong said: “Being grim-faced with frown lines when doing so is one way, but that is not necessarily the only way.

“One may convey concerns or express an opinion on issues through numerous mediums like oratory, debate, written articles, cartoons, theatrical plays, satire and poems.”
As such, it is all about getting a message across in a peaceful way.

Leong said: “There does not appear to be any element of incitement in the video. The fact that some people are taking offence to it and may excite or incite themselves, does not mean that the video and its contents are unlawful.”

He added that in order to move forward, people should not interpret laws to pander to the lowest denominator.

“Education must be the key, not outmoded draconian laws,” said Leong.

Umno Minister should not be guilty of interpreting laws to pander to the lowest denominator.

Clearly, among the first persons that need to be educated about political satires are UMNO Cabinet Ministers like Shafie and Ahmad Shabery. - Lim Kit Siang

Victim just wants to go back to school

The Star
by RUBEN SARIO

KOTA KINABALU: The family of a 13-year-old rape victim hopes that she can move on with her life and go back to school now that the culprit has been sentenced to 12 years’ jail and ordered to be given two strokes of the rotan.

Rights groups have lauded the sentencing, saying it sent a “loud and clear” message to would-be rapists.

An aunt who has been taking care of the girl said she was a bright student and dreamed of becoming a doctor.

“We just want her to get on with her life and achieve her dreams,” said the sister of the girl’s father outside the Sessions Court after 41-year-old restaurant manager Riduan Masmud was sentenced.

Riduan was found guilty of raping the girl, then about 12, in a car by a roadside near the Kionsom Waterfall in Inanam between 9am and 10am on Feb 18, last year.

On May 20, last year, Riduan told the court that he had married the girl, but the Attorney-General’s Chambers decided to go ahead and prosecute him for the offence.

Sessions judge Ummu Kalthom Abdul Samad, when sentencing Riduan, noted that the girl had stopped schooling since the incident and was deprived of her “teenage life” when she became a housewife.

Hailing the sentence, the Sabah Women’s Action Resource Group said the penalty would send a strong message to would-be rapists that they could not prey on children and then try to manipulate the system to escape punishment.

“This is important because of the worrying trend in rape committed against children in Sabah,” said its president Winnie Yee.

She noted that 80% of rape cases in the state last year involved girls under the age of 16. Of this, 17% could be categorised as paedophilia as the victims were 13 years and below while the rapists were at least five years older.

In KUALA LUMPUR, Bar Council chairman Christopher Leong said the decision reflected the serious views held by law and society on statutory rape.

“It is also a welcome message that perpetrators cannot use the device of marrying the underage victim as an excuse to escape criminal liability,” he said.

Leong also commended the Attorney-General’s Chambers on the prosecution, and said parents should realise that marrying a child to her rapist often added to the harm done to their daughters.

Association of Women Lawyers president Meera Samanther said the decision showed that justice could and would be served.

“The message in the judgment is loud and clear – rapists cannot circumvent punishment by marrying the victim,” she added.

Sisters In Islam programme manager Suri Kempe said a rehabilitation order should have been included in the sentence to address the root cause of the rapist’s behaviour.

“The man did not see anything wrong with his actions and has thus far expressed no remorse. He even made a public announcement that he was going to marry his victim and tried to circumvent the criminal justice system,” she added.

Syariah Lawyers Association secretary-general Moeis Basri said the girl had to apply for an annulment as the Syariah Court could not do so on its own despite the man being convicted.

“The Syariah Court on its own motion cannot annul the marriage unless the wife applies to the court for it to be dissolved.

“Under the Syariah law, if the husband is imprisoned for more than a year, the wife can apply for a dissolution,” he said.

Moeis said the conviction was an important lesson that a rapist could not escape punishment by marrying his victim, especially when she is a minor.

“It sends an important message to society that marriage is not a licence to escape rape charges.”

Hishamuddin Rais: Saya sokong Anwar bertanding di Kajang

Riot-hit Muslims find solace in Hindu village

Ram Singh (left), the community elder, speaks at Palda in Muzaffarnagar on Saturday. Picture by Prem Singh

Palda (Muzaffarnagar), Feb. 2: Mehndi Hasan, Roshan Ali and Mohammed Rasheed call Palda a “terrain of peace”.

Theirs are among 450 riot-hit Muslim families that have each bought a small plot in this predominantly Hindu village, looking to settle down among its “kind and generous” people.

Hasan, 45, had fled his home in Qutba, just 3km away, with his wife, five children and parents after rioters ran amok, killing and burning, in the Muslim village on September 7. But the Hindus of Jat-dominated Palda provided shelter to them and another 100-odd Muslim refugees for weeks and months.

“They fought off their own community members who wanted to attack us,” Rasheed said.

After the word spread, and the government’s riot compensation began trickling in, hundreds of Muslims from several relief camps began buying small slices of farmland here — about 150 to 200 square yards each — to build houses.

“We welcome them with open arms,” village elder Ram Singh, 60, told The Telegraph on Saturday.

About 100 of Palda’s 500 households were Muslims; now its population will double and Hindus may lose their majority — something that should have no bearing on everyday life unless someone plays mischief.

“We want to send a strong message to political parties that are trying to divide people for votes,” Ram Singh said, drawing claps from the Hindus and Muslims sharing a charpoy with him.

But Palda should not be simplified as a feel-good story. The village stands out in a belt blighted by fear and suspicion since the September violence, which killed over 50 people in the neighbouring districts of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli.

Palda’s experience till now suggests integrated neighbourhoods, not ghettoised compartments, are the best protection for both communities.

But Palda’s solitary status underscores the challenge before integration. Of the 50,000 riot-displaced, at least 15,000 are still too afraid to leave the relief camps. Of the rest, at least half have relocated to relatives’ villages or other Muslim-dominated settlements, often with help from minority organisations, leaving the region largely ghettoised.

“But Palda has become a riot-free terrain of peace (danga-mukt shanti kshetra) for us. The Hindus here are very nice and, thanks to them, many Muslim families are alive today,” said Rasheed, a former inmate of the Shahpur relief camp, 3km away, who bought his piece of Palda a month ago.

He has now pitched a tent and lives in it with his family. “We feel very safe here,” he said. “My new neighbours have been offering us food for the past one month. I’ll soon begin building my house.”

Willy-nilly, strife has become an economic factor, too.

Most of the 450 families of settlers, whom Ram Singh calls the village’s “guests”, are among the 1,000-odd households that have received the Rs 5 lakh compensation announced by the state government. Thousands more are still waitlisted in what critics cite as the latest example of the Akhilesh Yadav government’s poor handling of the tragedy.

“I bought a small plot in Palda paying Rs 3.5 lakh out of the Rs 5 lakh I got from the government,” said Roshan Ali. “I shall build a small house and live here with my family for the rest of my life.”

A municipal official in Shahpur said these plots were sold at rates up to three times the prices that prevailed before the demand from the riot-displaced rose. He added that this was true also of the towns and Muslim-dominated villages where some of the victims have relocated.

Like most Muslims in the region, the new settlers in Palda were mainly landless farm labourers in their native villages and now plan to work in their Jat neighbours’ fields. The rest — masons and blacksmiths — hope to continue in their earlier professions.

Palda is conscious and proud of its newfound fame. Every evening, a group of young villagers assemble at Singh’s home to provide bulletins on the day’s events in the deeply divided neighbourhood.

On Saturday, the discussions centred on Narendra Modi’s Sunday rally in Meerut, about 45km from Muzaffarnagar.

“We’ll go to the rally; some of our Muslim brothers too have decided to accompany us. We’ll submit a memorandum to Modi asking him to intervene and do something for the common people in the area,” said Raj Kumar Singh.

Those who had gone to the rally hadn’t returned home by late Sunday evening; so it remained unclear whether they had been able to hand the memorandum over.

The mood in villages even a couple of kilometres away throw the bonhomie in Palda into sharp relief.

Biram Singh, an elderly villager in Qutbi, which adjoins Qutba where Hasan and fellow residents were attacked, nurses bitter feelings towards his former Muslim neighbours.

“Some Muslims took loans of several lakhs from many people in our village and fled on the pretext of riots. No Hindu from our village attacked Muslims. We asked them not to leave but they did not heed us and even lodged FIRs against some of us,” Biram said.

“The trust between the two communities is gone,” acknowledged Shabana, 40, a widow who is building a single-room house near the Shahpur relief camp with her government compensation.

She has four children, including a 14-year-old son who has not been to school the past five months.

Shabana said the riot had left behind a legacy of hate among the children and youths of both communities. “We don’t know when the scars will heal and people will start living together again,” the Class IV dropout said.

Case to nullify polls result on March 11

Ex Bagan Luar DAP branch chairman is seeking to declare the result of the Bagan Dalam state seat null and void.

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang High Court will hear the case of former Bagan Luar DAP branch chairman who is challenging the victory of Bagan Dalam assemblyman A Tanasekharan in the general election on March 11.

G Asoghan, who is represented by counsel V Amarason, said the court had fixed the date after the documents were submitted earlier today.

Asoghan wants the Tanasekharan’s victory declared null and void because DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng is not recognised by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) and therefore cannot sign the letter of consent to contest in the elections.

Asoghan, who is also a party delegate to national congress, was sacked on April 23 last year after he contested the Bagan Dalam state constituency as an independent candidate.

He said the ROS, through a letter issued before the general election in May, had set aside the DAP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) election results on Dec 12 and ordered fresh polls.

“Therefore a by-election should be held for the Bagan Dalam state seat,” he said.

Asoghan named Thanasekharan and the Elections Committee as the defendants.

Palani under fire again over new appointments - FMT

The MIC president is taken to task for naming state deputies without consulting the chairmen.

PETALING JAYA: MIC president G Palanivel has come under fire again, this time for appointing deputy chairmen for the party’s state offices without consulting the chairmen.

A state chairman told FMT this had caused further division in the party.

“Quite a number of state chairmen are unhappy with the president’s move to name state deputies without prior consultation,” he said.

“Even a phone call to state chairmen informing them of the appointments would have been sufficient.

“Those appointed deputy state chiefs are his people. Obviously he wants to check on the state chairmen.

“We know it is his right to appoint state deputy chairmen but he should consult leaders in the state.”

Palanivel announced the appointment of 13 state deputy chairmen yesterday in a statement to an online newspaper.

He also announced the names of new coordinators for MIC’s Putera and Puteri movements. The new Putera chief is K Ravenkumar and his Puteri counterpart in J Gunamalar.

The unhappiness over the appointment of deputy state chiefs is reminiscent of remarks made last week by MIC Youth chief C Sivarraajh following Palanivel’s appointment of state youth leaders.

“I am not satisfied with the overall appointments,” Sivarraajh said on Jan 28.“Most of the names put forth by the youth wing seems to have been rejected by the president. He has taken the liberty to make his own appointments.”

Prerogative

Sivarraajh acknowledged that it was Palanivel’s prerogative to appoint the new leaders, but said he should have chosen people who could work well with officials of the parent MIC Youth movement.

The state chairman who spoke to FMT also criticised Palanivel for making yesterday’s announcement through an online portal.

“Has he lost trust in the mainstream media?,” he said.

“He can easily use mainstream media like Bernama and the Tamil papers. Why is he using this news portal to announce appointments? The news portal is not MIC owned.

“Why doesn’t the president call for a press conference in announcing the appointments? Is he scared to answer questions from the media?

“We know Palanivel is media shy despite being a former journalist. But by making announcements through a news portal that is not even popular, he has stooped to a new low.”

He said Palanivel had been avoiding not only the mainstream media but also the Tamil vernacular dailies.

“He used to have a say in a particular Tamil newspaper, but that particular newspaper has been bought over by someone else.

“So now he has lost his voice in the Tamil media. That is why he is using this news portal.

“Palanivel must by now realise that he is making all the wrong moves.

“Maybe it is about time he moved out as party president as he does not have control over the party.”

Crisis brewing in Penang MIC

Meanwhile in Penang, majority MIC divisions in the state are not happy with the appointments of M Shanker as state party Youth chief and R Prema as the Wanita head, reports Athi Shankar.

Sources said Palanivel had appointed both the leaders and this had not gone down well with party diehards in the island state.

Representatives from nine out of the 13 divisions in the state held a secret meeting last Saturday to deliberate on an action plan to force the president to change both the youth and women leaders.

They want the state MIC leadership under M Karuppanan to meet the president and convey their message immediately.

“The divisions may even plot to oust Karuppanan if he fails them,” said sources.

The divisions felt both Shankar, who is the Bukit Mertajam division youth chief, and Prema, were politically inexperienced and incapable of spearheading and transforming their respective wings as vibrant movements.

Sources also revealed that the divisions had proposed Tasek Gelugor division youth head A Murugan to head the state youth movement but this was never fulfilled by Palanivel.

The divisions are also against Prema’s appointment, which they claim was an “express political promotion.”

Prema became the Jelutong MIC division women leader only last October and barely after three months she heads the state wanita wing.

“From nowhere, Prema is now state women head by-passing so many others.

“This is undemocratic,” said the sources.

A prominent division leader recalled that former MIC president S Samy Velu, even though a tough character, would listen and act on grassroots views and sentiments.

“But Palanivel political style is even worse than his predecessor. He simply bulldozes his way without giving any explanation,” said the leader.

Allah row: Pakistani cleric blames Umno - FMT

Pakistani Muslim cleric Younus AlGohar ups the ante on his criticism on the Appeals Court judgment over the Allah row.
VIDEO INSIDE

PETALING JAYA: Pakistani Muslim cleric Younus AlGohar has implied that the Allah row between Muslims and Christians is caused by Umno to shore up support from the majority Muslim community.

“There are elections in Malaysia. There is a political party raising issues to unite Muslims to support them. And the party comes from the government,” said Younus in Urdu.

He said this in a video recording entitled “Restricting Allah to Islam is Shirk (syirik)” by AIRa TV two days ago in reference to the Malaysian Appeals Court decision in the case involving a Christian weekly publication, The Herald.

In mid-October last year, three judges – Federal Court judge Mohamed Apandi Ali and Appeals Court judges Mohd Zawawi Salleh and Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim – were unanimous in their decision that Allah’s name can only be used by Muslims and barred the Malay edition of The Herald from using ‘Allah’ to refer to God.

The three judges found that the word Allah was not an integral part of the Malaysian Christian’s faith.

Zawawi said that usage of the word Allah would only serve to confuse the Christians as well as the Muslims due to the Trinity concept practiced in Christianity.

The judge had also said that Christian Bibles in the Indonesian, Middle Eastern and Malay languages had erred by using Allah when referring to God.

An appeal has been filed against this judgment. The case is scheduled to be heard at the Federal Court on March 5.

In November 2013, Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah decreed that Allah cannot be used by non-Muslims in the state.

Various other states have now also begun enforcing enactments to bar non-Muslims from using ‘Allah’ as well as a list of other Arabic words deemed as Islamic.

Early last month, more than 300 Al-Kitab and Bup Kudus (Malay and Iban language bibles) were seized by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais).

Two weeks ago, Kedah Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah who is the current Agong also backed the Appeals Court judgment.

Ignorant ruling

Younus said that the Appeals Court judgment deifed the Quranic verse, “La ilaha illallah” which means “there is no God but God”.

“Malaysian Muslims are asking Christians to call upon their God with their own name for God but according to Islam, there is no illah other than Allah.

“When there is no illah other than Allah, everybody should call him Allah,” he explained.

In his criticism against the judgment, he said that the Appeals Court ruling was ignorant and “unIslamic”.

“There are Qurans in Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan. Aren’t there Qurans in Malaysia? Allah says there is no God but Allah.

“Who are you to interpret otherwise? This is unIslamic and insulting to Islam,” said Younos AlGohar.

He had previously criticised the court ruling in another video message.

Iranian prisoners claim mistreatment - FMT

Hundreds of Iranians held for drug-trafficking offences in prisons are suffering and in need of medical treatment, proper food and clean water.
EXCLUSIVE

PETALING JAYA: About 400 Iranians are allegedly being mistreated in prisons in the country after being arrested for drug-trafficking offences.

The drug traffickers were also denied their basic rights and had to bribe prison guards for proper food, soap or a packet of cigarettes.

This was revealed by an Iranian woman living in Malaysia who had conducted her own investigation after her friend was tricked into becoming a drug mule.

The woman gave FMT a letter written by an Iranian inmate on the numerous problems faced in prison.

“We are kept in cells resembling cages and kept locked 23 hours and only allowed to walk outside the prison yard for an hour.

“Most of us have not drank a glass of clean water in two or three years.

“The water is yellow in colour and the food served is of low quality and unhygienic,” the letter said.

The woman told FMT that many of them were suffering from chronic infectious diseases and the medicine given was ineffective.

On Jan 24, an alleged drug mule who is a diabetic, told FMT during a court appearance that he had been detained at the Sungai Buloh prison for more than a year while awaiting trial.

He said he had already informed the guards about his health condition but had yet to receive any medication.

Warning from embassy

He added that many prisoners were having skin infection due to bad prison condition and lack of clean water.

“The medicines given is not good and we need proper health care,” the alleged drug mule said.

It is also learnt that eight inmates were put in a small cell with an open toilet.

The woman said the inmates had complained that they could not even eat because of the awful smell from the toilet.

She said Iranian ambassador to Malaysia and the Teheran government could not care less about their own people.

“I have been interviewed by several TV stations from Iran on the condition of the inmates,” said the woman.

She added that the Iranian embassy had asked her to stop highlighting the issue and even threatened to send her back to Teheran.

Syariah police

A stronger Umno is why other Barisan parties are ‘powerless’, says former MCA chief

(TMI) – Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek (pic) today said that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had made Umno politically stronger during his tenure as prime minister, leaving Umno’s coalition partners in Barisan Nasional (BN) “powerless”.

The former Labis MP said the number of Malay parliamentary seats increased through the redelineation exercise over the last three elections and this subsequently worries the Chinese community.

“The Chinese are generally worried about a very strong Malay government lest their political rights and economic status will be encroached upon,” Dr Chua said in a blog posting today.

He added that the poor implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP) had also posed a greater worry to the community, and this ultimately left it losing faith in the government.

Against this backdrop, Dr Chua said BN component parties were edged into the background and the Umno supreme council’s decisions often became Cabinet decisions.

“I had mentioned before during the BN convention, that to the people, Umno is the taiko (master) and if it becomes arrogant and dictatorial, it will have an adverse impact on other component parties,” Dr Chua said.

Dr Chua in his posting, also expressed his disagreement with Dr Mahathir’s claim that economic liberalisation by the government was a way to appease Chinese voters.

Dr Chua said that instead, bumiputras should not see economic liberalisation as a compromise with the Chinese on the economy and be upset with the liberalisation policy.

“The income gap does not happen just between the bumiputras and the non-bumiputras. It happens within the bumiputras too

“In Kuala Lumpur, there are rich bumiputras and poor bumiputras; the bumiputras in the peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak, too, have income discrepancy,” he added.

'Kajang bid not to distract from sodomy case'

 

The decision by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim to contest in the Kajang by-election is not to divert attention from his sodomy case appeal this month, but to bring Selangor to greater heights, a senior academician has said.

Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (Umcedel) director professor Mohammad Redzuan Othman (left) opined that Anwar is already immune to court cases as he has faced a slew of them since 1998.

"Since 1998, Anwar has been in and out of courts and I do not think his move to contest in Kajang is to divert the attention away from then prosecution's appeal to his sodomy II acquittal as he is already used to being in and outside of courtrooms and has even served jail term.

"The fact is, the people are also aware of other high-profile cases like the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal and other matters that sees the failure of the prosecution (to garner convictions) and government's handling of them (by not appealing) compared to Anwar's case," he told Malaysiakini.

Redzuan said the bigger picture of Anwar's move to contest in a Selangor state seat is to consolidate Pakatan's position and to ensure the opposition retains the state in the next general election.

The prosecution's appeal will be heard on Feb 12 and 13 at the Court of Appeal. Whether Anwar is convicted or acquitted again, legal proceedings will probably go on.

Certain quarters like former MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek, have said Anwar's decision to contest in the Kajang by-election is to divert attention from the sodomy appeal.

The matter was also raised again yesterday in Umno owned daily Mingguan Malaysia in quoting Perkasa vice-president Zulkifli Noordin, who was once with PKR.

'Lacking political acumen'

Redzuan sees Anwar's immediate objective after winning Kajang is to replace Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim.

This, would also help resolve the feud between Khalid and PKR deputy president Azmin Ali (right), he said.

The Social Science faculty dean who is an advent political observer, added Khalid lacks the political acumen to counter the threat posed by BN.

He also pointed out the seizure of the Al-Kitab bibles, failure to address rising house prices, and the uneven roads and potholes in the state, are problems Khalid have yet to solve despite entering his second term.

Redzuan said there have not been much improvement in race relations following the seizure of the bibles.

The economy is also not in good shape following a drop in the prices of rubber and palm oil, and the hike in prices following the withdrawal of subsidies.

PKR party insiders also say that Khalid's failure to address the water issue in the state is another reason why the party is massing against him.

“I think Anwar sees that Selangor should be a model state for Pakatan and the other states in the country as they view the development in the Klang valley with much interest.

"If Anwar is successful in solving the issues here, it would reflect well on him,” he said.

 “If he manages to make improvements in all these aspects, it would also improve the opposition's chances in the next polls and pave its way to Putrajaya.

"Khalid (left) is seen not pro-active in resolving some of these problems as he is not a politician but a corporate leader. Anwar is seen as an international figure who has the top-down approach to reach out the people,” he said.

Redzuan also sees Khalid as being loyal to Anwar, to the point of relinquishing the Selangor MB's post, as he had announced the opposition leader's candidacy in a show of solidarity.

However, he said BN may have a tough time if it decides not to contest in this by-election, as it would be deemed weak.

"If it puts up an Umno candidate, it will receive a backlash as a MCA candidate is traditionally named. But if they put up a candidate from MCA, it may not get the full Chinese support.

"So BN is seen as truly placed in a corner in this contest," said Redzuan.

When satire is seen as a national threat

(TMI) Can Malaysians take a joke? Can Malaysians take satire or parodies?

Well, it would seem that there is a segment of society that takes offence at jokes, satires or parodies - and these people are usually your generic Umno member.

This past few days, Malaysians have been treated to the spectacle of some Umno members, including Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, taking offence at Seputeh MP Teresa Kok's Lunar New Year greeting video clip.

And they want action taken against her, notwithstanding that she has a right to self-expression and not be dictated by others on what she should say in her new year greeting and how she should say it.

Has Malaysia reached a point where everything said is seen as an attack against Umno or the Malays?

Every right-thinking Malaysian (this excludes Umno) should defend this right because it is easy to see where the likes of Shafie Apdal are taking this although Kok has denied the satirical video clip she uploaded on YouTube a few days ago was an insult to the Malays, the security forces, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife.

“I hope they stop it as the false allegations can cause racial tension. They should research on Mandarin and Cantonese before making baseless accusations as they are only embarrassing themselves," said Kok, who is also a DAP national vice-chairman.

Kok said the video, titled 'Onederful' Malaysia CNY 2014, was meant to be humorous and directed at those who spoke Mandarin and Cantonese.

The thing is, any video or writing critical of Umno and the government is being framed in racial and religious terms.

And if Umno cannot control the discourse by demolishing the argument, it will want to intimidate Malaysians by constantly waving threats of punitive action. That would be the only way to shut criticisms.

Or as Kok suspects, Umno's intention in playing the racial card could be a ploy to divert the rakyat's attention from the real issues affecting Malaysians, like the rising cost of living.

Such games and diversions are not necessary. Counter her arguments if need be but without threat, which has now made her video clip even more popular.

That popularity does not make satire a national threat. It just makes the accusers a bigger joke. – February 2, 2014.

Ensure Effective Enforcement Of Laws, Regulatons To Protect Consumers - DPM

DPM says laws must be fully enforced!BANGI, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has called on the relevant ministry and government agencies to be more proactive in enforcing the laws and regulations in order to protect consumers.

He said in this effort, the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minisry should play an important role in ensuring that the consumer-protection laws were fully enforced.

Muhyiddin said he was displeased with the attitude of most traders who had still not adhered to the order and regulations requiring them to label and display the price tags of goods which, according to him, caused inconvenience to consumers when making choices in buying goods at reasonable prices.

"The laws have been implemented but not fully enforced. So I think, in line with our move of monitoring prices to prevent customers from being cheated by the traders, these laws must be fully enforced.

"We hope for this, but perhaps time needed be given to traders who have requested for more time through their associations and chambers of commerce. But after that, the laws must be fully enforced," Muhyiddin said.

He said this at a news conference after making a surprise check on prices of goods at Section 16, Bandar Baru Bangi, Monday.

Also present was Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister, Datuk Hasan Malek.

Muhyiddin suggested that the ministry relaunch the labelling and price tagging campaign, besides giving traders a grace period of two months to label and put price tags on their goods for sale.

"Perhaps previously we had taken action but not comprehensively. This time after we've given them the grace period, they won't be able to find anymore excuses not to follow the order. I leave this effort to the ministry," he said.

He said various measures had been and were being taken by the government in tackling price increases and in reducing the people's burden, including preparing a detailed report on the rising cost of living by Pemandu (Performance Management and Delivery Unit).

"This report will be tabled at a meeting this Feb 5. Some areas have been focused on, including energy and fuel, food and beverage and services, transportation and toll.

"We will look at these and other areas holistically," he said.

Muhyiddin said the government always looked at and implement measures that could benefit consumers, besides ensuring that the economy remains strong.